"After the recent 2018 US midterm, we can safely say this was a historic victory for women in American Politics. Anna-Karina Yuill gives us an insight on what happened."
Published in 2018 on Lippy Magazine's former website. Read it here:
With the 2018 US midterm results recently released, we can safely say this was a historic victory for women in American Politics.
It’s beyond doubt that more women serve in congress than ever before. According to Rutgers’ Centre for American Women and Politics, more than a third (34%) of the senate comprises of women, an increase from only 23% before the elections. This improvement also extends to the House of Representatives, where 100 of the 435 seats (23%) are now occupied by women, an increase of 16 from the 84 (19.3%) before the elections. These statistics alone show that although a lot of work is to be done to reach a more equal gender ratio in government, this has been a huge step in the right direction. According to The Inter-Parliamentary Union archive, the United States has moved from 104th place to 78th place in the list of countries with the most equal gender ratio in parliament, demonstrating potential for moving up further.
Some notable individual victories from women come from minority groups. This is important as it ensures these groups will now be appropriately represented in government. For example, native women were voted into congress for the first time: Democrats Sharice Davids from Kansas, who is also the state's first lesbian congresswoman and Deb Haaland of New Mexico, a state in which Native American women weren’t given the vote until 1962. Two Muslim women were also voted in for the first time, an impressive result considering Donald Trump’s adversity towards Islamic countries. These women were Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, both Democrats.
Moreover, this year saw the youngest women ever elected to the House of Representatives. From Abby Finkenauer of Iowa to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a democrat of Puerto Rican descent from the Bronx, an apt representation for an area of roughly 50% immigrants. Earlier this year, after campaigning door-to-door, she shocked the establishment by unseating the fourth-ranking house democrat Joe Crowley in the Democratic Primary, after working in a restaurant the year before. These two women are both 29.
So why did women experience so much success this election cycle? After Hillary Clinton’s loss in the 2016 election to Donald Trump, things seemed more down than ever for women in American Politics. Recently, in a world experiencing a resurgence of feminist sentiments, the fact that the US has never had a female President has been worrying. This view has been emphasised by Trump’s apparent unfavourable views towards women’s rights.
In 2017, Trump administration announced that it was no longer a requirement for birth control to be included in insurance plans according to the Affordable Care Act. This policing of women’s bodies and health has turned women against him and so therefore makes women likely to vote for their representation, as their lives are being directly impacted. Furthermore, many people across America believe that violence against women is not taken seriously. From Brock Turner, a Stanford student convicted of three sexual assaults who only spent three months in prison, to Brett Kavanaugh, recently elected senator who allegedly raped Dr Christine Blasey Ford, to the President himself, one of the most powerful men in the world, who has 20 sexual assault allegations and mocked Dr Blasey Ford, treating her as a joke. The power of these men who blatantly disrespect women has also emboldened more women to vote, to combat this sexism and inequality.
Another reason women were successful in this election may also be because the US experienced the biggest youth turnout at the polls for 25 years- according to the exit polls 31% voted. This is significant as, according to the University of Chicago’s Cathy Cohen’s GenForward study, 62% of millennials support women’s rights and equality. This illustrates that, with so many youth caring about gender equality and also voting, there would have been more consideration towards women’s rights in their decisions.
More women than ever before are being mobilised into being able to make a difference rather than being passive spectators in politics. The primary positions of power in America have always been men, but with more women being represented, women’s issues will most likely be addressed more now. This clearly shows optimism for the future of women in American Politics.
For Lippy Magazine, November 2018. Image Credit: Vox.
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